Every year, the NFL Scouting Combine isn’t just an opportunity for teams to meet with draft prospects. It’s also an opportunity for them to start laying the groundwork for trades and free-agency moves ahead of the new league year.
Last week at the combine, the idea of Aaron Rodgers joining the New York Giants began to pick up steam. The New York Jets had previously announced they are moving on from the 41-year-old quarterback after his failed two-year stint with the team.
The Giants, along with the Las Vegas Raiders, made a run at Matthew Stafford, according to FOX Sports’ Jordan Schultz. However, the 37-year-old opted to remain with the Los Angeles Rams. That leaves the Giants still with a major void to fill at quarterback, with only Tommy DeVito under contract.
“Even if you get a young quarterback, you’d like to have a vet in the room with him to show him the ropes and how to be a pro,” Giants general manager Joe Schoen told reporters at the combine.
New York holds the No. 3 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft and could draft a quarterback at that spot. However, in his most recent mock draft, FOX Sports’ Jason McIntyre projected the Giants to select Penn State edge defender Abdul Carter and possibly sign Rodgers as a free agent.
The Giants are currently the favorite to land Rodgers, and “there’s mutual interest between both sides,” according to The Associated Press.
But does the pairing actually make sense?
Here’s what FS1’s personalities had to say about the matter.
James Jones: Rodgers should sign with the Vikings or Steelers
The Giants are coming off a 3-14 season and have other holes besides the quarterback position. Rodgers is a four-time NFL MVP looking to end his career on a winning team. His former teammate with the Packers, James Jones, doesn’t want Rodgers to pick the Giants.
“No, I don’t want to see my dog go to the Giants. I don’t,” Jones said on “The Facility” on Monday. “I don’t know what my dog’s plans are, how many more years he wants to play, what his goal is or what he’s trying to accomplish going into the season.
“But the New York Giants, in my humble opinion, aren’t a contender. I don’t want to see Aaron Rodgers go to a team that I don’t believe is a contender.”
Jones offered two potential landing spots for Rodgers.
“The only two teams that make sense for my dog are the Vikings and the Pittsburgh Steelers because we know those are two teams that are possibly a quarterback away from being a contender,” he said.
This past season, the Vikings and Steelers made it to the playoffs but fell in the wild-card round. Sam Darnold, who was under center during Minnesota’s surprising 14-3 campaign, is a free agent, as are both of Pittsburgh’s 2024 starters (Russell Wilson, Justin Fields).
[Related: Ranking the top 100 free agents of 2025]
Chase Daniel: The Giants are in a no-win situation
Jones’ co-host, Chase Daniel, wasn’t totally on board with a Rodgers-Giants partnership, either, but said they’d have to make it work if it happens.
“Quite honestly, Joe Schoen, the GM, and Brian Daboll, which we all think is a great playcaller and coach, they’re going to be fired if it doesn’t work out,” Daniel said. “He wasn’t their No. 1 option. We all knew that they were after Matthew Stafford. They offered him $100 million guaranteed. I think this says a lot about what the Giants think about the upcoming quarterbacks in the draft because they draft No. 3. They could move up to No. 1, but is it worth it to move up to No. 1 to get Cam Ward?”
“It’s crazy because I think Rodgers played well the more I watched him,” Daniel continued. “He played well down the stretch. But I don’t think that Rodgers, at this point in his career, can continue to elevate low-level playmakers. … In fact, I do know that the Giants don’t even have the same amount of playmakers that the Jets did last year.”
Daniel added on social media that he thinks “the Giants are in a lose/lose [situation]” because this draft class isn’t deep at quarterback and they can’t wait until next year to address the position.
[Related: Rob Rang’s top 101 draft prospects in the 2025 class]
Eric Mangini: Daboll could make it work, if necessary
Former Jets coach Eric Mangini thinks Daboll is “uniquely equipped” to deal with Rodgers considering his past with Brett Favre. Daboll was the quarterbacks coach under Mangini for two seasons and worked with Favre in his lone season with the Jets in 2008.
“Watching Daniel Jones get beat up the way he did, I can’t imagine Aaron Rodgers is excited about the idea of getting beat up like that in New York,” Mangini said on “First Things First.”
“The Giants had plenty of problems and he just had those problems with the Jets. So, that’s not exciting to him. I think there’s a little bit of New York fatigue with Aaron Rodgers. I don’t think there’s going to be a parade down Fifth Avenue if Aaron signs with the Giants. It doesn’t make a ton of sense and I don’t know how successful it’d be, although I do think Brian has a chance to make it successful.”
Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily.
Get more from National Football League Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
